Perception – Episode 9

Nicky was woken up early in the morning by her phone which was ringing. She reluctantly picked it up with sleepy eyes .

“Hello , good morning “she said with a low voice.

“Hi ,are you awake?” , the male voice asked .

“Ehmm, I am not even sure “she replied with a sleepy

Voice .

“I am sure you don’t know who is speaking. Wake up Nicky. You need to prepare for your lecture” William said to her .

The thought of going late to school made her get out of bed quickly.”Thanks for waking me up William. I hope you slept well?. Did you sleep at all? , she asked.

“I am getting ready to go for my early morning run.Just thought that I should wake you up so that you don’t over sleep” ,he replied.

“Thanks dear.I have to go now. Have a great day: , she said and ended the call.

While Nicky got dressed for school, thoughts of William flooded her mind.She didn’t understand why he was being so friendly towards her .Although she didn’t mind having him as a friend because he seemed nice.

Two days went by so fast. Nicky was busy with school work. She fought so hard to fight the urge to call William when she didn’t hear from him. “What did I do to scare him away ?she asked herself. I don’t want him to think I am desperate”,she said to herself.

She eventually lost the internal battle and decided to send him a text.She typed a text message which read” i hope you are okay? “.

Just as she was about to press the send button, William’s call came in.

” Hi Nicky”, he said to her. “Hi William” she replied without trying to sound excited by his call.

“You didn’t even check up on me these past few days” he said in a playful manner.

“I am sorry, I have been so busy, I hope you are okay though? “She replied .

“I had a bad flu but I feel better now “, he replied. “You will have to make it up to me” he said to Nicky with a soft voice.

She laughed and said” how Mr William ? “She asked.

“I have a friend whose baby will be christened this sunday,can you accompany me to the event?” , he asked.

“What a coincidence!, it’s my birthday as well ” she said excitedly.

“That’s nice! We’ll celebrate together then.Have a great day dear” he said.

“You too “she replied and ended the call.

Nicky was woken up by a knock on her door on Sunday morning. It was a delivery man who handed her a bouquet of fresh flowers and a gift box.

She read the card attached to the flower. “Happy birthday dear!See you by 10am,”.

Nicky was overwhelmed by the love she received so far from friends and family.

At exactly 10am, she heard a knock on her door. She went to see if it was William. She opened the door to see him standing before her. Her heart raced at the sight of him. He looked so good in his white short sleeved fitted traditional attire.

He looked at her for some seconds without uttering a word. Nicky felt uncomfortable but still managed to wave her hand in front of his face to get his attention.

” You are beautiful Nicky “he said with a smile. “I got a gift for you” William said to her .”Another one?, you didn’t even give me a chance to thank you for the beautiful bouquet of flowers and box of chocolates you sent earlier, thanks a lot “she replied .

She invited him into her room.” Turn around” he said to her. Nicky obeyed and turned around .

He brought out a necklace from a small jewelry box .William came closer to her and gently pushed her long braids away from her smooth chocolate coloured neck.

He brought out a necklace from a small jewelry box .William came closer to her and gently pushed her long braids away from her chocolate coloured neck.

He wore the white gold necklace round her neck . Nicky excitedly went to the nearest mirror to admire it.

“Thank you so much, I love it “she said.

“You are welcome”, he replied with a smile .

They eventually went to the church for the christening and afterwards , they all went to his friend’s house for a small reception.

They had fun socialising with friends and eating the delicious meals served.

After a while, William whispered into her ears excitedly ,” Let’s leave” .

Nicky happily obliged .He gave the parents of the baby a gift for their child and left with Nicky.

“Where are we going to”?She asked William with curiosity.

” I remember you said that you have not really explored Aberdeen. Let’s go and see a castle ” he replied .

He took her to one of the magnificent castles in Aberdeen . Nicky was as excited as a little girl because she had never been to one before .A tour guide showed them all the rooms and gave a little history of the castle as they explored the building.

They had a nice time .When the tour was over, they got into his car and he drove off.

They eventually got to Nicky’s hostel. “Wow! that was fast “she said.

“Time flies by so fast when you are having fun” , he replied .

“Thank you so much for a beautiful day.I enjoyed my birthday” she said as she looked into his eyes.

“I should be the one saying thanks dear” , he said to her .

He held her soft hands and faced her . William looked at her beautiful nude made up face with admiration.

“I have not been this happy in a really long while. Thank you for being a friend to me” he said while holding her gaze with his eyes.

“Aaaaw,that’s sweet”, she said and gave him a hug. William pecked her fore head gently and whispered good night into Nicky’s ears.

He walked her to her room and she went inside after thanking him again for a fun day.

Nicky had a hot shower and wore her night gown.She laid down on her bed as she went through her birthday messages on the Internet.

She got a text alert on her phone. Nicky hurriedly read it when she saw that the sender was William.

“Who’s the lucky girl she replied with a frown on her face as she typed the message.

“Nicky Okafor” he replied her

“Laugh out loud (lol)”she said to him with a smile on her face .

“Don’t laugh love,you have managed to sweep this dude off his feet “, William replied.

Nicky was both excited and scared.She had never really been in a serious relationship before. She didn’t want to make a hasty decision ,so she just replied with a text which read;

“Goodnight dear, it was a great day”.

William felt disappointed. He lost the love of his life by being too slow and laid back .He knew that he took Amoge for granted. William thought about the past and all the great times he shared with Amoge.

He didn’t think that he would find some one that he would be so attracted to again. “I won’t make another costly mistake twice in my life time”, he said to himself.

“It’s possible that she is dating someone else but I don’t believe that who ever it is ,will ever love her as much as I do” , he said to himself.

Nicky woke up the following morning refreshed.She had an afternoon lecture so she decided to visit her friend Ada in the morning.

Ada welcomed her into the house .Nicky joined her in the kitchen as she made Egwusi soup.

Where did you go to yesterday madam,we could have hung out yesterday, Ada said.

“Oh ! I went out with somebody”,she replied with a mischievous smile on her face.

“Out with it girl!you owe me gist”,she said to Nicky.

Nicky gave her a brief summary of how William made her day special .

“Well I don’t really know him that well but I could ask my brother what kind of guy he is for you.Nicky just be careful anyway, some of these Nigerian guys have girlfriends or wives they left back home.I don’t think he is a shady guy though but be smart” she said to her.

“Madam adviser, don’t take life too seriously. We have only gone out once” she said to Ada.

“That’s how it starts my dear .Anyway I have booked your chief bridesmaid position just in case it works out” ,she replied jokingly.

Nicky stayed with her friend for a while and went for her lectures. She decided to go to the shop close to her hostel to pick up a few toiletries. On her way back, she thought of William. She wondered if he was hurt by her last text message.Nicky decided to give him a call.

“Hi William, how are you doing? “, she asked.

“Hi dear, I had to leave work early today because I still feel ill.I guess I shouldn’t have stressed myself yesterday “he replied .

“Sorry dear! , I am on my way to your house” she said to him.

“Okay, see you soon”, he replied.

Nicky quickly dropped the items she bought in her room and went to his house.

She called him when she got to his house and he opened the door.

“I didn’t think you were serious about coming over” he said to her with a smile on his face.

Nicky hugged him and they both went inside.

“You are having a fever “she said with a loud voice,”have you taken any drug for it?”she asked.

“My fever medication is finished. I was actually trying to get some strength to go to a pharmacy and buy some more”,he replied with a low voice.

“Okay come and lie down on the sofa. I will go and buy some drugs for you. It’s probably a bad viral infection” she said to him.

Nicky hurriedly walked down to the pharmacy down the street and bought some drugs for the fever , headache and stuffy nose.

She gave him the drugs.Tepid sponged him because his body was so hot and made some sandwiches for him .

The effect of the drug began to kick in, William became drowsy and his temperature became cooler.

” I think you should go into your room and sleep” , Nicky said to him.

She followed him into his room and propped his pillows up so that he could lie down comfortably.

“Goodnight dear”, she said to him.

She didn’t wait for a reply because he was fast asleep.

Nicky left his room and went to his kitchen. She cleaned up both kitchen and living room.

She went through his refrigerator/ freezer and decided to prepare a small pot of jollof rice and chicken for him so that he would have something to eat later.

Nicky went to her room.She laid down on her bed thinking of William.

“I hope the fever won’t return” she said to herself.

“What am I doing Nicky? Why am I missing him?” , she asked herself.

She picked up her book to study and eventually slept in the process because she was very tired.

She woke up the following morning to see a missed call from William and a text which read;

“Every encounter with you makes me love you more. I feel better today. I almost finished the whole pot of delicious jollof rice. Thanks dear”.

Nicky smiled like a Cheshire cat as she read it. She knew deep down, that she was also falling in love with him.

She heard a knock on her door. Nicky dropped the phone on her reading table and went to see who was knocking.

She opened the door and saw him standing before her.

“I had to come and see you” he said with a soft voice.

Nicky’s eyes lit up with surprise. “Come inside ” she said to him.

“Please sit down and make yourself comfortable, my first lecture is later in the day” she said to William.

They talked for a while and William said to her “I will wait for you for as long as it takes “.